Minnesota, 1997

Flash Flood and Hail in Minnesota, July 14, 1997

July 14, 1997 · NWS FGF · 2 events in 1 county or zone

1 hail, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$7,000
Crop damage
$50,000
Events
2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Polk

When
July 14, 4:30 AM CST
Where
Polk County, 4 mi NE of Erskine
Measured
1.75 in hail
Property damage
$5,000
Crop damage
$50,000
Coordinates
47.700, -95.970

Hail fell for 45 minutes. There were still drifts of hail on the ground at 0900 CST.

Flash Flood, Polk

When
July 14, 5:00 AM CST
Where
Polk County, 3e 0.5n Erskine
Property damage
$2,000
Coordinates
47.774, -96.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

4 to 5 inches of rain caused a basement to quickly fill with water.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5606775, 5606776.